Biotech Report: Biogen reports upbeat results from drug study

CBS.MarketWatch.com

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Biogen said late Thursday that a trial of its drug Adentri showed positive results.

After the market closed Thursday, the company
bgen
that a third Phase II trial of Adentri, a diuretic used to treat fluid accumulation associated with congestive heart failure, had preliminary positive results.

The broader markets slid in the last hour of trading, as investors displayed a great deal of nervousness in the aftermath of Fed Chair Alan Greenspan's comments on Thursday, which hinted at future rate hikes. See Market Snapshot. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -0.33%
lost significant ground for the third straight session, falling 275, or 2.6 percent to 10,239. The Nasdaq Composite
$compq
fell 112 points, or 2.5 percent, to 4,436.

According to PaineWebber analyst Elise Wang, Adentri is a second-generation compound with the potential to be dispensed in more than one form, such as by injection or pill, that's potentially more effective. Wang said that although there are already several diuretics on the market, they are typically most effective in the early stage of disease and lose their power as patients progess. She said the market represents a "multi-hundred-million-dollar" opportunity.

Wang raised her price target for Biogen's stock to $145 from $105 a share, saying she expects continued positive news about drugs in Biogen's pipeline to keep pushing shares higher.

Biogen said it will make a milestone payment to CV Therapeutics, from whom it licensed the Adentri program.

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